Biography

Dr. Yaron Tomer is Chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Bone Diseases at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai’s Department of Medicine. Dr. Tomer received his medical degree from the Sackler School of Medicine at Tel Aviv University, Israel. He trained in Internal Medicine at Sheba Medical Center, Israel, and continued his training in Internal Medicine and in Endocrinology at The Mount Sinai Medical Center. Dr. Tomer stayed in Mount Sinai after his training, joining the faculty of the Division of Endocrinology in 1997. From 2005 to mid 2009, he joined the University Of Cincinnati College Of Medicine as Professor in the Department of Medicine. Dr. Tomer rejoined Mount Sinai School of Medicine in May of 2009 as Professor of Medicine and Vice Chairman of Medicine for Research. Dr. Tomer serves as an associate editor of the journal, Thyroid, and serves on the editorial boards of Edocrinology, the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, and Autoimmunity Reviews, among others. He is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, as well as the American College of Endocrinology.

Research

Etiology of autoimmune thyroiditis and diabetes

Postdoctoral Fellow: Angela Lombardi, Cheuk wun Li

Graduate Student:

Research Personnel: Erlinda Concepcion, Mihaela Stefan,

Summary of Research Studies:

The laboratory of Dr. Tomer studies the mechanisms leading to the development of autoimmune thyroiditis and diabetes. Current projects include: (1) Genetic and epigenetic studies in thyroid autoimmunity. The Tomer lab discovered that the presence of arginine at position 74 of the peptide binding groove of HLA-DR is critical for disease susceptibility. In collaboration with Dr. Osman's group from the Department Structural and Chemical biology they identified a specific HLA-DR pocket structure that is associated with thyroid autoimmunity. The group is now analyzing which immunogenic peptides can bind to these pockets and induce thyroid autoimmunity, since blocking these peptides from binding to the DR pockets can be used as a novel therapeutic approach. Dr. Tomer’s group also identified several non-MHC genetic polymorphisms that are associated with thyroid autoimmunity including variants in the CD40 and thyroglobulin genes. Current studies focus on the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms, by which these variants contribute to disease. The group is using tissue cultures to examine the effects of genetic variants on gene regulation and splicing, as well as transgenic and chimeric mouse models. (2) Genetic analysis of autoimmune (type 1) diabetes and thyroiditis. The Tomer lab is analyzing genes that confer shared susceptibility to the development of type 1 diabetes and autoimmune thyroiditis in the same individual. The lab has shown that the CTLA-4 and FOXP3 genes play a major role in this shared susceptibility and they are currently studying the mechanisms by which these genes predispose to both diseases. In addition the group is mapping additional genes conferring this shared susceptibility. (3) Environmental factors and thyroid autoimmunity. It is well known that certain infections, specifically hepatitis C, are associated with thyroid autoimmunity. In addition, interferon alpha therapy of hepatitis C can cause thyroiditis in a significant percentage of patients. Using tissue cultures and mouse models Dr. Tomer’s lab is studying the mechanisms by which hepatitis C infection, and interferon alpha therapy cause thyroiditis.

Industry Relationships

Physicians and scientists on the faculty of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai often interact with pharmaceutical, device and biotechnology companies to improve patient care, develop new therapies and achieve scientific breakthroughs. In order to promote an ethical and transparent environment for conducting research, providing clinical care and teaching, Mount Sinai requires that salaried faculty inform the School of their relationships with such companies.

Dr. Tomer did not report having any of the following types of financial relationships with industry during 2014 and/or 2015: consulting, scientific advisory board, industry-sponsored lectures, service on Board of Directors, participation on industry-sponsored committees, equity ownership valued at greater than 5% of a publicly traded company or any value in a privately held company. Please note that this information may differ from information posted on corporate sites due to timing or classification differences.

Mount Sinai's faculty policies relating to faculty collaboration with industry are posted on our website.
Patients may wish to ask their physician about the activities they perform for companies.

Insurance Information

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